Andrew Jackson- Born March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaw area and died on June 8, 1845 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Democrat
In office from 1829-1837
V.P's- John Calhoun from 1829-1832, Martin Van Buren from 1833-1837
Andrew Jackson, a military hero previous to his term was often glorified due to his social and military background. Jackson grew up as an orphan in Carolina and came from nothing. He taught himself law and applied for the bar and passed. He was also known to be rugged and tough, which would follow him into his military career. His background along with leadership displayed in battles in the War of 1812, notably the Battle at New Orleans, helped Americans throughout the South and west develop a strong personal connection to him. His leadership in the Battle of New Orleans helped restore a sense of nationalism that had not been seen since the revolution. This was the key to his fame. Jackson then, ran for elections in both houses of Congress, and eventually ran for president in 1824. This election was named the "Corrupt Bargain of 1824", which led to John Quincy Adams winning the election, even though he had not a higher percentage of votes. This then led the House of Representatives deciding on the winner of the election. Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, showed his support of John Quincy Adams and according to Jackson he had shifted the position of many Congressman. This infuriated Jackson and led him to run again in 1828. That time he had won the election. During his election he Jackson had made many decisions that were appealing to the area that his support was from, the Southwest. Overall, he deserves a C- for his presidency as a grade, due to the fact that the nation was in a state of turmoil after he left office. He also didn't make many decisions that benefited the country as a whole.
There were many goals of Jackson that were addressed directly and also indirectly. Addressed directly were goals stated in speeches and shown throughout other presidential actions. Indirectly addressed goals were ones such as it being implied that Jackson pushed for policies that benefited his area of support. There were many goals that Jackson had addressed in his first Inaugural Speech. This was displayed by Jackson stating that "Internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge, so far as they can be promoted by the constitutional acts of the Federal Government, are of high importance." Although, Jackson had stated that this was of high importance, the nation was not improved, but in a catastrophic state when he left. People panicked and the country was left in a terrible economic state. Therefore, it was either hypocrisy that was used in order to gain the support of the masses or failure to accomplish goals. Either way, it was still a negative effect that he and his administration was held accountable for. Jackson had also expressed his goals through the decisions he had made in office. He made many decisions that were biased towards his supporters. A few examples of those decisions were forcing the Native Americans westward at Georgian's and other Southerner's requests. Another was denying the charter for the Bank of the U.S. This Bank benefited the North more than it did the South and this infuriated Southerners. Therefore Jackson made his decision to deny the charter claiming that it was because of his personal disapproval, but it is arguable that he did it to maintain his support.
Andrew Jackson had a very unusual relationship with Congress. He had vetoed more bills than any president had before. He had a total of 12, which was unprecedented at the time. The runner up as far as vetoing was James Madison with a total of 7. The rest previous to Jackson had very few or none. Throughout both of his terms, Jackson also had the Senate and House in his favor. This was also relatively strange, because the majority party usually switches in the middle of a term. During his terms Jackson had called for many policies. They included substituting the paper currency they had used previously with hard money, which were used previously. This was done due to help strengthen the economy. But, it did nothing but merely help lead the country into the Panic of 1837. Another policy which was passed was the Indian Removal Act. This moved Native Americans from the South westward into camps called reservations. This was a cruel act that pushed them off of their native lands in order to maintain tranquility in the South. This is an ideal example of how Congress and the supreme Court allowed such an inhumane act to be passed. A policy which Jackson had vetoed in office was the charter for the Bank of the U.S, proposed by Pennsylvania. Another example of a veto which he had successfully completed was the Maysville Road Veto. This was done to help with internal improvements on a road in Kentucky. This was another example of Jackson's ability to get what he had wanted while in office.
There were many actions by the president's administration that had taken place which had a negative and positive effect. There were many decisions made by the administration that had a negative effect. One of them included John Calhoun encouraging Monroe to censure Jackson after he had invaded Spain. This infuriated Jackson and led to disagreement and a sudden collapse in chemistry between the two, while Jackson was in office. Before, the two had agreed on many political stances. Then, Jackson finding out about that had destroyed the relationship and caused disunity within the cabinet. Calhoun then resigned from his spot as Vice President and served in the Senate as an avid supporter of slavery. A positive effect of the administration was Martin Van Buren becoming Vice President in 1833. He had assisted Jackson tremendously and helped Jackson coin the phrase " We must preserve the union." The two got along fairly well, except for the fact that they were from two different areas and had two different areas of support. This shows that there were many positive and negative effects of the administration and it is hard to take one stance over the other.
The actions and decisions made by Jackson and his administration had greatly affected the following generations. Shortly after he had left office Martin Van Buren was stuck with the burden of the Panic of 1837. This was caused by economic experimentation by Jackson that failed tremendously. Jackson had also left the idea of money needing to be backed with a tangible luxury element. This introduced politicians to the idea that in order for the economy to be stable, the currency needed to be backed with a valuable element. This is a very important issue even now today. The dollar value has decreased tremendously, and now people are searching for alternatives to U.S currency, which are backed by gold or silver. Another effect that Jackson and his administration had on future generations were regarding to Native Americans. The Trail of Tears had a very negative effect on Native Americans. Many of them currently live in reservations and have a low standard of living in comparison to the rest of America. They are currently in a terrible position and a portion of this was caused by Jackson's decision to move them from their native lands.
The country overall was much worse off at the end of the term. The country was in depression shortly after Jackson. It was in a terrible state after his term, that is why the grade given to him is rightfully deserved. The C- grade given to him seemed to be appropriate because of his ineffectiveness during his term.
Democrat
In office from 1829-1837
V.P's- John Calhoun from 1829-1832, Martin Van Buren from 1833-1837
Andrew Jackson, a military hero previous to his term was often glorified due to his social and military background. Jackson grew up as an orphan in Carolina and came from nothing. He taught himself law and applied for the bar and passed. He was also known to be rugged and tough, which would follow him into his military career. His background along with leadership displayed in battles in the War of 1812, notably the Battle at New Orleans, helped Americans throughout the South and west develop a strong personal connection to him. His leadership in the Battle of New Orleans helped restore a sense of nationalism that had not been seen since the revolution. This was the key to his fame. Jackson then, ran for elections in both houses of Congress, and eventually ran for president in 1824. This election was named the "Corrupt Bargain of 1824", which led to John Quincy Adams winning the election, even though he had not a higher percentage of votes. This then led the House of Representatives deciding on the winner of the election. Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, showed his support of John Quincy Adams and according to Jackson he had shifted the position of many Congressman. This infuriated Jackson and led him to run again in 1828. That time he had won the election. During his election he Jackson had made many decisions that were appealing to the area that his support was from, the Southwest. Overall, he deserves a C- for his presidency as a grade, due to the fact that the nation was in a state of turmoil after he left office. He also didn't make many decisions that benefited the country as a whole.
There were many goals of Jackson that were addressed directly and also indirectly. Addressed directly were goals stated in speeches and shown throughout other presidential actions. Indirectly addressed goals were ones such as it being implied that Jackson pushed for policies that benefited his area of support. There were many goals that Jackson had addressed in his first Inaugural Speech. This was displayed by Jackson stating that "Internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge, so far as they can be promoted by the constitutional acts of the Federal Government, are of high importance." Although, Jackson had stated that this was of high importance, the nation was not improved, but in a catastrophic state when he left. People panicked and the country was left in a terrible economic state. Therefore, it was either hypocrisy that was used in order to gain the support of the masses or failure to accomplish goals. Either way, it was still a negative effect that he and his administration was held accountable for. Jackson had also expressed his goals through the decisions he had made in office. He made many decisions that were biased towards his supporters. A few examples of those decisions were forcing the Native Americans westward at Georgian's and other Southerner's requests. Another was denying the charter for the Bank of the U.S. This Bank benefited the North more than it did the South and this infuriated Southerners. Therefore Jackson made his decision to deny the charter claiming that it was because of his personal disapproval, but it is arguable that he did it to maintain his support.
Andrew Jackson had a very unusual relationship with Congress. He had vetoed more bills than any president had before. He had a total of 12, which was unprecedented at the time. The runner up as far as vetoing was James Madison with a total of 7. The rest previous to Jackson had very few or none. Throughout both of his terms, Jackson also had the Senate and House in his favor. This was also relatively strange, because the majority party usually switches in the middle of a term. During his terms Jackson had called for many policies. They included substituting the paper currency they had used previously with hard money, which were used previously. This was done due to help strengthen the economy. But, it did nothing but merely help lead the country into the Panic of 1837. Another policy which was passed was the Indian Removal Act. This moved Native Americans from the South westward into camps called reservations. This was a cruel act that pushed them off of their native lands in order to maintain tranquility in the South. This is an ideal example of how Congress and the supreme Court allowed such an inhumane act to be passed. A policy which Jackson had vetoed in office was the charter for the Bank of the U.S, proposed by Pennsylvania. Another example of a veto which he had successfully completed was the Maysville Road Veto. This was done to help with internal improvements on a road in Kentucky. This was another example of Jackson's ability to get what he had wanted while in office.
There were many actions by the president's administration that had taken place which had a negative and positive effect. There were many decisions made by the administration that had a negative effect. One of them included John Calhoun encouraging Monroe to censure Jackson after he had invaded Spain. This infuriated Jackson and led to disagreement and a sudden collapse in chemistry between the two, while Jackson was in office. Before, the two had agreed on many political stances. Then, Jackson finding out about that had destroyed the relationship and caused disunity within the cabinet. Calhoun then resigned from his spot as Vice President and served in the Senate as an avid supporter of slavery. A positive effect of the administration was Martin Van Buren becoming Vice President in 1833. He had assisted Jackson tremendously and helped Jackson coin the phrase " We must preserve the union." The two got along fairly well, except for the fact that they were from two different areas and had two different areas of support. This shows that there were many positive and negative effects of the administration and it is hard to take one stance over the other.
The actions and decisions made by Jackson and his administration had greatly affected the following generations. Shortly after he had left office Martin Van Buren was stuck with the burden of the Panic of 1837. This was caused by economic experimentation by Jackson that failed tremendously. Jackson had also left the idea of money needing to be backed with a tangible luxury element. This introduced politicians to the idea that in order for the economy to be stable, the currency needed to be backed with a valuable element. This is a very important issue even now today. The dollar value has decreased tremendously, and now people are searching for alternatives to U.S currency, which are backed by gold or silver. Another effect that Jackson and his administration had on future generations were regarding to Native Americans. The Trail of Tears had a very negative effect on Native Americans. Many of them currently live in reservations and have a low standard of living in comparison to the rest of America. They are currently in a terrible position and a portion of this was caused by Jackson's decision to move them from their native lands.
The country overall was much worse off at the end of the term. The country was in depression shortly after Jackson. It was in a terrible state after his term, that is why the grade given to him is rightfully deserved. The C- grade given to him seemed to be appropriate because of his ineffectiveness during his term.
Bibliography:
"American President: Andrew Jackson." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://millercenter.org/president/jackson>.
"Art & History Home Origins & Development Party Division." U.S. Senate. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm>.
Jackson, Andrew. "First Inaugural Address." Washignton, D.C. 4 Mar. 1829. Address.